


Eclipse

by Fastest_Enby_Alive, shipposts-and-shitposts (Fastest_Enby_Alive)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aladdin (Disney Movies) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Cinderella Fusion, Alternate Universe - Sleeping Beauty Fusion, F/M, Fantasy, Female Protagonist, Love at First Sight, Magic, Original Character(s), Original Prince Character, Royalty, Soulmates, Swords, original demon character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fastest_Enby_Alive/pseuds/Fastest_Enby_Alive, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fastest_Enby_Alive/pseuds/shipposts-and-shitposts
Summary: Ava is a reclusive bookworm who only ever sees the same few people from day to day. She rarely leaves her home, but she loses herself in her books and her own writing. The adventures that she allows her characters to embark upon are plenty of outside world that she needs.James wants the world in the palm of his hand and he's being fed that on a silver platter, but there's no danger or excitement to his life like he craves. He'd much rather go out and be adventuring than just sitting and receiving the kingdom without putting in anything.These two unlikely lovers cross paths thanks to a bit of magic, but trouble is brewing right under their noses. Ava's past and James's future combine into one very bitter demon who's more than happy to steal James's kingdom from him.Not if Ava has anything to say about it.(Or a weird combination of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, a bit of Aladdin, and demons. Take it as you will.)
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. chapter one - ava

**Author's Note:**

> This is my work for Camp NaNoWriMo, so it'll probably be updated regularly until that ends. I plan on making my story longer than my word goal, so I'll continue to work on it in August; it just might not be as regularly.
> 
> I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Ava hated her family. This wasn't news.

Her stepmother cared so little about her well-being that if she stayed in her room for days at a time, she would barely be noticed when she returned downstairs to restock her food cubby. She did her own laundry and dishes and stayed away from Denise and Claire. They had their own lives; they just happened to live in her house.

Ava had unfortunately gotten used to this routine. She'd hide in her room with a few days worth of food and books, read until her heart’s content and she was out of books or food, restock, repeat. Nothing changed. Nothing interesting other than maybe a few jabs at her appearance from Claire, which tended to sound the same after a few months.

Her most exciting days were when she left the house to get more books from Julianna, the seamstress who lived next door. She got groceries first, of course, but Julianna was the spark she needed to keep going in her routine until she found a way out.

Julianna was not the kind of person you'd assume would be friends with someone like Ava. Her brown curls matched her equally bouncy personality, and her taste in clothes and books reflected that as well. Most of her clothing was pink or white with fancy lacing and embellishments, which her clients tended to enjoy. Whenever she got dark fabric from her supplier, she tended to make things for Ava instead. The darker colors didn't fit the aesthetic of her business and Ava needed clothing anyway.

Julianna did have a hefty collection of sappy romance novels, however, which Ava loved to read and critique by marking character flaws and unhealthy tendencies in relationships. Julianna didn't mind that her books were getting inked up; they were much more interesting to reread with Ava’s side notes in the margins about how “Pauline shouldn't forgive him this easily! He's an asshole!” or “Why is he alive? Juli, this man should be dead! Sword wounds kill people! He lost a lot of blood!”.

So when Ava came around every few weeks or so, the girls exchanged hugs and baskets; Ava’s full of marked up books and baked goods as a thank you and Julianna’s full of new books and new blouses and skirts. It was a silent agreement of theirs that had gone on for years now. In the exchange, sometimes there was gossip, or maybe quick book reviews, and every once and awhile, the news of a handsome young man wandering the streets of their small town.

But the “handsome men” were usually shared by Julianna; Ava wasn’t planning for any sort of relationship. The men she saw daily were the delivery boys or merchants who overlooked her in favor of her much more attractive stepsister, so none of them were at all an interest to her.

One night, all of that changed.

\---

_She was in the woods. The trees were glimmering, almost sparkly, but not with any glitter that she could reach out and get all over her fingers._

_There was a clearing up ahead, and someone was standing there. He turned toward her, eyes wide, as if he didn't expect her either._

_“Hello there!” she called, slowly beginning to approach him._

_“Um, hello!” He waved gently, smiling a little. It was sort of cute. He actually acknowledged her presence and seemed genuinely interested in her, at least in this moment._

_“My name is Ava.” She held out her hand in proper greeting._

_He seemed surprised somehow but beamed and took her hand nonetheless. “You may call me James. It's a pleasure to meet you.”_

_“It's nice to be the one people talk to for once,” she admitted quietly. “Usually men like you ignore me entirely and talk to Claire, my stepsister.”_

_“How could they ignore you when you're so beautiful?” He said with a smile, before flushing bright red. “I'm sorry, that was very forward.”_

_“That's alright.” She laughed. “I found it very flattering.”_

_They then proceeded to sit in the middle of the clearing and stare up at the stars. They talked about their hobbies: Ava, her favorite books and random things she'd written, and James, his favorite composers and piano pieces he wished he could play himself, Ava had never met this man before, but she felt like she'd known him all her life. He was special and a stark contrast to every other man she'd met._

_Her soulmate._

\---

Ava woke up with a start. Her dream; it was too real, too magical, and…she could have sworn she recognized that face.

There was no point wasting time trying to remember, since her dreams seemed to fade faster when she struggled to recall fine details, so instead she got up and began her morning routine: washing her face, braiding her hair, and getting her breakfast ready.

Right before she could take a bite into the baguette she procured to eat, she had a startling realization.

“Holy shit, that was the prince.”


	2. Chapter Two - James

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE (7/6/20): I casually forgot one of the plot points that I wanted to do and just wrote this chapter without consulting my main outline, so I'm reworking this chapter and the end of it is now going to be a bit farther into the future. Apologies, but they'll meet each other soon! Instead, have some more fairytale elements.

“Son of a bitch!”

“Prince James!”

James winced and turned around to face his teacher. "Apologies, ma'am. I'm just...frustrated, is all."

"That's no excuse to swear in front of a lady, Your Highness. It doesn't matter that you're royalty; if anything, your position makes it worse. Your future wife doesn't want some barbarian prince that curses every time he messes up. Again."

He sighed and faced the piano again, skimming his fingers across the keys at what felt like the speed of sound. Everything sounded perfect, maybe this time he'd hit all the right notes and get all the dynamics, and...

_Clunk._

He froze and sighed. A wrong pitch hiding in a run; the worst kind.

"Again."

It felt like even if he focused excessively, thinking ahead as far as he could and hitting all the right notes, he still managed to miss something, whether it was a pitch or a dynamic marking or something else that his teacher found to point out.

"Again."

Okay this run sounded good, he fixed the wrong pitch and continued going; he made it to the hard section and he was doing well. Everything was correct, until...

"Again."

_Please let this be over soon, I'm begging you._

"Again."

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the king entered the hall, looking as regal as ever.

"Hello Father," James said, fixing his posture so he wouldn't get reprimanded. "How is your morning?"

"Fine, James, thank you." He turned to face James's teacher. "That will be all for today, Mrs. Giovanni. We'll see you next week."

_Please don't mention it, please don't mention it._

"Your Majesty, Prince James swore in front of me today."

_Fuck._

"James?" James faced his father and sighed. "Is this true?"

"Yes Father, but it was an accident. It'll never happen again. I'll be more careful, I promise."

"You may leave, Mrs. Giovanni." The king said without looking at her. She nodded quickly and left.

_Double fuck._

King Quentin stared at his son. "No one wants a leader who curses at his piano teacher, James. What were you thinking? We pay a lot of money for her to be here."

"I know, Father, it was a simple slip of the tongue and I promise that I won't swear in front of other people again."

King Quentin glared at him and quietly left the room, leaving James and his racing thoughts behind.

James sat back down on the piano bench in a huff. He didn't mean to curse in front of Mrs. Giovanni, it just kinda happened. He was still extremely confused from his dream last night, and there really wasn't anyone to talk about it with. His father didn't really care much about his well-being, and his mother and sister probably wouldn't even believe him.

But it felt so real.

He'd woken up that morning already missing her eyes. There were special and he could have sworn they glittered in the moonlight. He had to find her, but if there was no one he could truly trust within the castle, this was going to be extremely hard.

Somehow, he still had to try.

\---

After pacing in his room for what seemed like hours, James found himself back at the piano. He didn't quite know how he got there, but there he was, sitting with his hands on the keys but no music in front of him.

He closed his eyes, pictured her face, and began to play.

His fingers danced along the keys to a minor melody. Maybe because he was sad that he'd never see her again. Maybe because he saw the loneliness in her eyes when she spoke to him.

The slightly haunting song continued into a new key, the chords progressing and the volume growing. The anxieties began creeping in: someone's probably listening and they probably hate it, she's not even real you weirdo, why do you think you could compose your own music this is just bullshit. He shut them out the best he could and kept playing.

The piece ended with a major chord. He was crying but he had no idea when the tears had started. There was a stack of paper he kept underneath the piano for just this purpose.

He sat at that bench for another hour and a half, reworking his steps and notes, and finally he'd written it all down.

At the very top, he wrote the piece's title: "Symphony for a Fallen Angel".


	3. Chapter Three - Ava

"You've got to be joking."

"I swear I'm not!" Ava laughed as she folded another shirt. Whenever she visited Julianna's shop, she needed something to do with her hands, so she honestly was more than happy to lessen her friend's workload by folding her garments for her.

"Not only did Prince James appear in your dream, but you also didn't recognize him as the prince?" Julianna cried. "Ava, dear, you live too far under that rock."

"I'm sorry, alright?" Ava sighed. "He just seemed too, I don't know, human? Normal? Average? He didn't act like a prince. Just some guy."

"I thought you didn't like 'just some guy's."

"I don't." She stated firmly. "That's why James was different."

"Prince James," Julianna corrected.

"Right. That's why Prince James was different. He didn't look around to try and find a prettier girl. He didn't seem disinterested in anything I had to say. He actually talked to me!"

"About what?"

Ava smiled. "He's a pianist and a composer. He likes to write his own pieces, but he's too scared to perform them."

"Oh, we've got a shy future ruler. That's comforting."

"But he was so sweet, and he was so passionate about his art. I'd love to hear him play."

Julianna smiled. "I mean, I bet you could. All you've got to do is sneak into the palace, find the prince, and say 'Hi there, James, remember me? Right, we never met, but you were in my dream this one time and you gushed about how much you like pianoing, so I want to hear you play.'"

"Gross, that makes me sound like a stalker!" Ava wrinkled her nose. "And pianoing isn't a word."

"Yes it is. I just made it up."

"You're so funny, Juli," Ava sighed. She handed her stack of shirts over. "Any more?"

"I believe that's all for today," Julianna replied. "You really don't have to do my job for me. You have your own things to do."

"I really don't. That's the point."

"Yes you do!" Julianna grabbed Ava by the shoulders and gently shoved her out of the shop. "You have stories to write and plot lines to plan! Go! Let your imagination run wild and then reign it in so I can read your fantastic creation!"

Ava stared at her for a second before bursting into laughter. "Alright, I'm going. Are you going to give me a deadline, or did you want me to immediately lose interest?"

"Three chapters by the end of the week!"

"Sounds good!" Ava called behind her as she headed back home. She caught a glimpse of the castle behind the rows of homes in her town. _What had I even been thinking for an incredibly kind version of the prince in my dream?_ She'd never been entirely interested in him before. It just seemed weird.

But she sighed nonetheless. No time to worry, she had three full chapters to write.

\---

She was half a chapter in before her mind began to wander. She just couldn't shake the feeling that her dream wasn't just a dream. It seemed much too real to just be a one time thing.

She had dabbled in a bit of magic before, but this was nothing like she'd ever read about in her books before. This kind of magic was brand new and extremely interesting.

_Maybe..._

No. It was highly unlikely that tonight she'd have a similar dream, right? Right.

So she went to sleep, secretly crossing her fingers that she'd see him again.

\---

_"James?" She called. The glittering trees were back, but the clearing was empty. Where was he?_

_Was she truly crazy?_

_She quietly sat down in the clearing by herself. She knew that this all seemed too good to be true. Just some normal girl meets the prince in a dream and they're soulmates. It sounded just too much like something she'd write herself._

_"Ava! You're back!"_

_She whipped her head up to see his smiling face and his bouncing curls. She couldn't take it._

_"Ava, Ava, no, please don't cry." She felt James's hands on her cheeks and the tears poured even harder. "Darling, why are you crying? I'm here, aren't I?"_

_"You can't be real," she murmured. "It's not right. This can't be possible. I'm not Claire, I'm not some magical child who just has this kind of luck or whatever this is out of the blue. I'm just me. I can't just suddenly be the prince's soulmate."_

_James took a moment to process what she'd said. "You know I'm the prince? But I didn't..."_

_"It wasn't too hard to figure it out," she sniffed. "I'm just upset that I didn't figure it out last night."_

_"But you think I'm your soulmate?"_

_Ava froze. "Oh god, I just thought, because of last night...we had some sort of spark or something. It's completely alright." The tears continued and her eyes blurred._

_"No! That's not it!" He wiped away her tears and forced her eyes to focus on his own. "I love you so much. I felt that spark too, and, if I can find you, I'd love to court you; maybe even marry you someday."_

_Ava stared at him and flung her arms around him. "I'd love that."_


	4. Chapter Four - Sebastian

He'd had this job for several years now. From his position, you'd think that he'd worked extremely hard to get there.

You'd be wrong.

Sebastian was special, and not in the good way: he was around eight hundred years old, very much not human, and yet here he was, the king's personal advisor.

About twenty or so years ago, at this point he'd lost count, Sebastian met a young girl named Victoria. She was naïve and of course knew nothing of his origins. But she somehow trusted him, just enough for him to worm his way into her mind.

They courted for about three months before he impregnated her. She wasn't ready and neither was he, but for some reason he felt the need to tell her what would happen when she had her child.

So he let it slip that he was a demon, and that their child would be a demon spawn. By the next morning, Victoria and their child were gone.

Sebastian knew that there was nothing he could really do about it at this point. He could go searching for her but now that Victoria didn't trust him, there was a very slim chance that she'd give him the child or even get anywhere near them. 

He decided instead to focus on another goal: taking over the kingdom, which was the original reason why he came to the surface world in the first place.

Sebastian worked his way into the palace and began small by using his magic to convince the lower guards that he belonged with them. After that, when the leaderships knew him well enough, he became one of them, and so forth.

He continued to gain trusts and worked his way up to the junior advisor position. Unfortunately, that advisor didn't trust him in the slightest. He'd finally hit a roadblock.

Instead of giving up, he simply killed the man, told the king that he'd died of a heart attack, and assumed to position naturally.

There was only a few more steps until his plan would be perfect.

Sebastian had watched Prince James grow up. He knew this boy was a hopeless romantic at heart, watching him play numerous instruments and charming the entire castle staff as he grew older. Little did James know that he was a pawn of his father's advisor.

Once James became of age, King Quentin would want him to get married right away. James's birthday was very soon and he knew there would be this terribly uncomfortable speech about how James needed to gain a wife so he could become king and she could sit beside him as his queen.

James would of course have no problems finding a suitable woman, and as castle advisor, Sebastian would be officiating the wedding. During the ceremony, he would slip a curse into the vows: the future queen would become barren and wouldn't be able to bear any children.

After the wedding, it most likely wouldn't be long until the happy couple would attempt to have an heir to the throne. Unfortunately, they would learn that it isn't possible. Instead, the two of them would grow old and once they die, the kingdom would be free for the taking.

But that would take far too long. Sebastian planned to pitch the king a plan that the king would agree to thanks to some magic: Sebastian is immortal, which the king doesn't currently know, but the magic would make that particular piece of information not much of an issue; because of his immortality, Sebastian would be the perfect king since he'd never die. His magic would be able to help the people, of course, and all would be well and good.

The king would agree and Sebastian would have the kingdom at his disposal. After this, he'd most likely kill the royal family, since they wouldn't really matter, and he'd take over the kingdom to turn it into his own little corner of hell on Earth.

Simple as that.

\---

"Sebastian!"

He turned to see James hurtling down the hallway in a huff. "Yes, your Highness?"

"Where's my father? I have to talk with him." _Oh dear, what's wrong now._

"I don't believe I know, your Highness, but you're more than welcome to come with me to find him."

"Sorry, no offense, but I most likely will be much faster on my own," James sighed before taking off again.

"No running in the halls, your Highness!" Sebastian shouted. James grumbled angrily but slowed down anyway. Hopefully this was something actually important and not some stupid thing that doesn't need the King's attention. He may be a demon, but unfortunately he still had a job to do: protect the king and make sure that he isn't bothered.

Reluctantly, he followed James to the King's quarters.


	5. Chapter Five - James

"James, what is the meaning of this?"

James couldn't breathe yet. He'd thrown open the doors to his father's study to meet the eyes of several shocked nobles; he immediately regretted his actions.

"James!" His head snapped up to meet King Quentin's eyes. "State your peace or leave. I'm a very busy man, and you know that."

The panic set in extremely fast, which wasn't helped by the noble eyes on him. "No, it's not a big deal, I'll just go."

He was just about to leave when one of the nobles spoke up: "Oh, your Highness, it's quite alright. Say whatever you'd like."

"I promise, it's nothing to concern the nobles about. You all seem to be extremely busy." James slowly began backing out of the room. He'd started shaking, but he's the future ruler and he's standing in front of all of his future advisors; he couldn't possibly look like a mess.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may my son and I have the room please?" _Dammit._ The nobles nodded and one by one left the room, closing the door behind them. "James, I know what's going on." _Fuck._

"You do?"

"Why of course." King Quentin clapped his son on the shoulder. "You're in love, my boy."

James sighed. "Yeah, that's it. I've found her, Dad. Well, not quite."

"What do you mean, 'not quite'?"

"I met her in a dream!" The anxiety seemed to fade as James grew more excited. "She's beautiful, Father. Her name's Ava, she's a writer, and she...she's no princess or noblewoman but it's okay, because that means she'll know the people better! Isn't that what a ruler is supposed to do?"

"James, slow down."

"She understands me too. I've told her about my piano playing and my compositions; I've written one for her now too. And once I find her, I'd like to court her and whenever she's ready, we can marry."

"James, listen to me." The king looked at his son and the glimmer in his eyes and frowned. "How do you know if this girl is even real?"

"I..." The anxiety was back. "I just know it, Father. She's too human to be fake."

"That's not any reason to assume she's real, James. She could be completely made up in your mind. Why don't you go out and find a real girl instead?"

"No! She's got to be real! She figured out I was the prince, so she's got to be in this kingdom somewhere."

"You can't just search the kingdom. You'll never find her."

James was panicking but somewhere amongst the panic he had an idea. "A ball."

"Pardon me?"

"We can host a ball! Send invitations to everyone in the kingdom and maybe, just maybe, I can find her."

"James..."

"Please, Father."

King Quentin looked into his son's eyes. He didn't know how, but he knew that his son was madly in love with this girl, real or fake.

"Fine." James's eyes lit up. "On one condition. If...Ava, is it?" He nodded. "If Ava is not at this ball, you've got to find yourself another girl at that ball. You're almost eighteen, son, and it's time for you to begin courting a proper future queen. There are plenty of princesses and noblewoman who would be lucky to marry someone like you. Ava or someone else at that ball. Do we have a deal?"

James quickly thought over his options. _I'll find you Ava. I promise._ "Deal."


	6. Chapter Six - Ava

Victoria was such a kind woman, and an even kinder mother. When she was pregnant with Ava, she knew that there was no way a young woman like her would be able to raise a child on her own, let alone a demon spawn, so she found William, a businessman with enough money to sustain a family.

William wasn't in love with Victoria, but he did consider her a very close friend and was more than happy to raise her child alongside her.

Ava was born in September. At a young age, she learned that her parents weren't together; she didn't seem to care. They were still amazing parents and she loved them both very much.

Ava remembered her mom well. Victoria was a tad overprotective, especially since she didn't know if or when her daughter would develop Sebastian's powers, but she nurtured Ava well.

However, when Ava was eight, Victoria got pneumonia and unfortunately passed away. Ava didn't speak a word until she turned ten, and William didn't force her. He knew that this was her way to grieve. Unfortunately, William knew he couldn't take care of Ava on his own, so he went searching for a suitable partner.

In this search, he found Denise, who a single mother of a young daughter. She seemed perfect: a former housekeeper, already a mother to a daughter, and looking for a husband. She moved in after six months and they married after a year.

Unfortunately, her daughter and Ava didn't get along as well as expected. Claire was around a year older than Ava and a bit malicious in some ways. She didn't like Ava in the slightest and was very spoiled by her mother, getting everything she wanted and never taking no for an answer.

So whenever Claire would do something wrong, she had the perfect blame: little Ava, because of course, Claire was a perfect angel.

Denise never knew of Ava's origins or her real father; she never asked so William never told.

William didn't truly love Denise either, but they both knew he needed her. So she sucked up to him as much as she could so he'd never see how they both mistreated Ava. She was locked in her room as punishment on several occasions and many times without meals. She grew extremely skinny, and whenever William noticed, she was too terrified of future punishments to tell him.

Anytime William became swamped with work, he was usually locked in his room as well; he just never noticed. Denise told control of the household as if it was her own, and Ava and William were just the other family living there.

As Ava and Claire grew up, they also grew into their looks. Claire was the epitome of beauty, with long blonde hair and green eyes, just like her mother. Ava was just as beautiful, with her scarlet hair and blue eyes, but because of her lack of meals and tendency to stay away in her room even without the punishments, she always looked tired and gaunt. Boys never noticed her, and she pretended that she didn't care.

Whenever someone did notice her, it never lasted long. She'd panic and leave before anything got too serious, as she'd always expected the worst. Claire and Denise of course didn't care, as it meant more attention toward Claire.

Of course, this is why Ava holed herself away. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about the outside world or her family, so it was much easier to rely only on herself.

That's what made Julianna so special. She came to Ava's house on one of the rare occasions that Denise and Claire were out, bringing pastries and a gentle smile. She broke through Ava's carefully crafted emotional walls and helped her break out of her shell.

She only could hope that James would be the same way.

\---

Unfortunately for Ava, Denise actually did get the mail.

She heard the excited shriek from downstairs and sat against the door to listen without confrontation. Denise and Claire already pretend that she doesn't exist, so she knew she wouldn't be caught.

From what she could understand, whatever they were screaming about was an invitation and it involved...the prince.

_James?_

Julianna would know.

And because Claire and Denise were downstairs, Ava proceeded to jump out of her bedroom window.

Fortunately, Julianna was actually on her way to Ava. Unfortunately, Julianna was there and watched her fall.

"Ava! Dear lord, are you okay?" Julianna hurried over to her and helped her up. "Why on earth were you jumping out the window?"

"Trying to find you!" Ava replied. "First of all, James. Prince. Whatever." She stopped to breathe before continuing. "He's back. In my dreams, I mean. And now there's apparently this invitation thing."

"Oh yeah, everyone in the kingdom got one." Julianna handed over her own copy. "King Quentin's hosting a ball for James. It just says 'so he can find a wife'. Maybe if you go, you can actually understand that you're crazy."

"I'm not crazy! He proposed courtship last night!" Ava exclaimed.

"I beg your pardon?"

"He said if we can find each other, he'd want to court me!" Ava repeated. "And he reassured me that he's real, not that that helps anything."

"Ava, this has got to be the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"But what if this all checks out? What if he actually is the prince, and he does love me, and I finally get my happily ever after? I'm in your position too, I can't believe this and I'm so terrified that I'm giving my hopes up. But he just feels so real, Juli. Not real like the men in the books, but real like a human person. I trust him, Juli. Please trust me."

Julianna saw the hope in her best friend's eyes and sighed. "Okay. Let's get you your prince."


	7. Chapter Seven - James

James knew that the best chance he had of making this ball as catered to the people as possible would involve going out into the villages and having non-royal people plan and provide for the ball; they'd get paid by the palace to continue running their businesses and, as King Quentin pointed out, it made James look better.

He personally didn't care about his image, but if helping the people was an option, he'd automatically choose that.

James did want to pick out his staff on his own to help as many people as possible, so he hurried out into the village dressed in the least princely clothes he had, which were still a very nice shirt and pants and probably more than anyone who lived here could afford. 

Honestly, it wasn't his fault that he didn't have cheaper clothes; princes don't need casual clothes and he didn't shop for himself anyway.

Halfway through looking for his staff, he'd already scored a baker and a planner to help him out, he realized something: if he was in the villages, he had some sort of a chance of finding Ava. _She must live around here somewhere._

He scanned the people around. There wasn't a single ginger, let alone that startling red shade. Lots of sparkly blue eyes, but none of them were the right ones.

_Maybe she doesn't look the same. Maybe she's not supposed to look exactly like how I met her. Maybe..._

"Dammit!"

A young woman crashed into him head-on. She was clutching several books to her chest that almost fell but she didn't look like she ever planned on letting go. She caught her balance and glared at him.

"You really need to watch where you're going!" She grumbled before staring more intently. "Shit, you're..."

"The prince?" He said, still a little disoriented. "Yes, I know, I'm very sorry miss."

"James!"

He blinked and looked at her again. There she was: Ava. The scarlet hair, the sparkly eyes, much more angry than he remembered, but he did just run into her. "Oh god, Ava, I'm so sorry."

"You...you know who I am."

He frowned. "Ava, we've spoken several times now. I'd never forget you; you've practically changed my life. I am terribly sorry for running into you, my mind is everywhere today."

"Oh it's fine," she murmured, still in intense shock. "I've told you; guys like you don't pay attention to girls like me. But why are you out here? Aren't you supposed to have guards or something when you leave the palace?"

"Yeah, but they're boring. And they take forever to get dressed," he joked. "No I'm actually planning for the ball. I hope you got the invitation; I'm holding it for you, you know."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, it's a little weird to explain to your father, the king, that you've met the perfect girl in a dream. Especially since you're not a royal or a noble. He didn't really believe me, but I made this deal..."

"A deal?"

"If...if you didn't show up to this ball, he's going to force me to court someone who is actually there. Which is why I was praying so hard that you existed and you're not some figment of my imagination." He beamed so wide that Ava swore she could see sparkles, almost like the trees in their mind forest, or whatever else they could call it. "But you're here! You're real, and you're here right in front of me, and god you're just as beautiful as I hoped." Ava grinned back at him; his happiness must be contagious, and she began laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You!" She cried with a smile. "You're supposed to be this regal person, but in reality you're...gorgeous but so normal and approachable." She was a writer for gods sake and yet she was struggling to try and come up with the words to describe him. "You're a bit of a people pleaser and a bit of a mess, just like the rest of us."

He stared at her and after taking a moment to process what she'd just said, he began to laugh as well. "I guess I am, aren't I? A true prince of the people."

She smiled. "Do you want to go sit down and get a drink or something?"

"Oh god, yes please, these shoes are way too small."

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments; it really means a lot.


End file.
